Talk to Our Interns

Why did you choose to do an internship/co-op with Sequent?

I first heard about Sequent at a Finance Association meeting in the Spring 2005 semester and again at an Energy Association meeting in the Fall 2005 semester, both at the Bauer College of Business at University of Houston. After learning about the great opportunities Sequent had to offer, its great culture, schedule flexibility with my school, and following my goal of someday being a trader, I decided to further research the company and seek an internship/co-op opportunity with them. I was fortunate to be selected and with no doubt in my mind accepted the offer.

How would you describe your role during your internship/co-op?

My role during my internship/co-op has changed tremendously since the time I started. I began by shadowing a Senior Scheduler and learning the business, to doing nominations along with wellhead allocations, to now scheduling my own set of pipes in the Mid-con Region. My role has always had an important factor in the reconciliation processes as well as the daily activity. I have always been treated not as just an intern, but as a regular full time employee and am expected to complete my work with the same accuracy and proficiency as everyone else. In order to achieve this, I have been provided with plenty of help and support at all times, which in turn has aided me with the steep learning curve and has helped assure that I make minimal mistakes in the process.

What are some of the challenges you have encountered?

Learning the business, language, and the system have definitely been my biggest challenges. I have always been pretty good at multitasking, but being a scheduler has definitely put me to the test. Constantly working under pressure of deadlines with many things going on at the same time is sometimes hard to manage, but I have fortunately have a great group of individuals help me and direct me to learning the business.

Has the experience been what you had hoped it would be?

The experience of working at Sequent has by far surpassed my expectations. I have learned so much more than I thought I would and have definitely gained more real world experience than I expected. I had read and heard about the company’s culture, but have also been blown away by it. It is hard to describe, but it seems to be the right combination for this business. It has a relaxed, laid back yet loud and demanding atmosphere, which helps the employees handle the stress of the business a whole lot better and improve their performance at a faster pace.

Why did you choose to do an internship/co-op with Sequent?

Sequent provided me with the perfect opportunity to begin my career in the energy industry. While interviewing, (I learned) the projects that I would be working on and the different business units that I would be able to move into through their rotational program provided great exposure and opportunity to learn about the natural gas industry. Their rotational program offered me the opportunity to learn about risk controls, credit, and accounting.

How would you describe your role during your internship/co-op?

My first post was in the accounting department and began maintaining our account receivables (AR) and settling with our third party counterparties. I then moved into the Risk department and helped make a procedure manual to help with our audits. Next, I worked with the Credit department internally rating our non-rated third party counterparties by reading and analyzing their 10-Q and 10-Ks. I moved back into accounting and continued helping with settlement and was responsible for clearing and maintaining our outstanding AR balances with customers. I currently work in risk management assisting with our DPR (Daily Position Report).

What are some of the challenges you have encountered?

SI look at challenges as learning opportunities and have been fortunate to have great supervisors and managers that were always willing to help me with any questions I had in accomplishing my tasks. I think my greatest challenge is finding tasks and projects that provide value for the organization.

Has the experience been what you had hoped it would be?

I don’t think that I could have imagined a better internship. Sequent’s rotational internship has provided me with experience and exposure in accounting, credit, risk control, and risk management. I certainly didn’t expect a company that has a trading floor to have such a cohesive environment and positive company culture.